UCL CAREERS SERVICE

"Short Guidance" is a confidential, fifteen minute 1-1 discussion with a Careers Consultant. It can be used to discuss a range of issues such as:

• making decisions about life after UCL, e.g. choosing between work, further study or taking time out
• exploring options related to your degree
• planning your next steps to get where you want to be
• how to gain skills or work experience linked to longer term career goals while at UCL
• changing or leaving your course
• how to market your degree, skills and/or experience to employers*
• what to expect at interviews or assessment centres
• feedback on aptitude test results

and more...
Depending on the nature of your discussion, the Careers Consultant may refer you for a more in-depth Long Guidance session of up to an hour after this initial appointment.

Careers Guidance is an impartial process and a Careers Consultant won't tell you "what to do" or make decisions for you.

A copy of a recent CV can be useful, (though not essential), if you're exploring options / next steps with the Consultant as it will quickly give them an overview of your work / education history.

However, Short Guidance sessions cannot be used to check applications for a specific purpose. Please visit our Applications Advice page if you're applying for something specific and have a CV, cover letter, personal statement or any other form of application that you need help with.

Doing a little research in advance and answering many of the frequently asked questions yourself will allow you to focus on more specific issues during the time you have with the Careers Consultant.

To make the most of your 15 minute Short Guidance session, we therefore strongly recommend making use of the resources suggested in the relevant section of our Help With... pages.

We have a team of 14 professional Careers Consultants, all of whom can provide guidance on any topics so initial Short Guidance discussions would generally be with whoever is on duty when you book.

If you've met a particular Consultant before, either through your Departmental Talks / Workshops, or in a previous Short Guidance appointment, and would like to see them again, you can check the Short Guidance Rota for details of their availability.

To find out more about our Careers Consultants, their backgrounds and their Departmental responsibilities at UCL, please see the information about Our Team.

Availability

Short Guidance sessions run at the same time every week:

• Monday to Thursday: 10am - 12pm (term time only*)
• Monday to Thursday: 2pm - 4.45pm (all year round*)

Appointments are available at 15 minute intervals during these times.

PLEASE NOTE: Short Guidance does NOT run on Fridays.

Bookings

We only offer same day bookings to ensure availability of appointments at short notice. You can either:

• Call our Booking Line: 020-7866-3602 or
• Come to the Careers Service in person

any time after 9.30am on the day that you want to see a Consultant. We do not take bookings through our general enquiries number, by email or via our website.

Please note: During busy times of the year, we recommend early booking as there are a limited number of slots available each day which can fill quickly when demand is high. Please also note that high demand for slots can mean the phone line is frequently engaged while we take bookings so you should hang up and try again if you don't get through and are unable to book in person.

*Please check the main UCL Website for details of term dates and College closure days.

If you arrive more than 5 minutes late, your appointment will be cancelled and you will be asked to re-book on another day. Queries cannot generally be dealt with effectively in under 10 minutes and starting late will inconvenience other users of the service.

Due to the nature of 1-1 guidance however, some appointments can last slightly longer than 15 minutes which means you may not always be seen exactly on time but you should still avoid arriving late and missing your slot.